Process and apparatus for forging bucket-wheels.



' F. 8. WHITE.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS ronroname BUCKET WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAYI5, 1914.

1,137,440. Patented Apr. 27, 1 915.

WITM'SSSELY:

FRANCIS S. WHITE, QB FHILADELPHIA, ItENN'SYLVANIA.v

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR FORGING- BUCKET-WHEELS;

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 2'7, 1915.

Application filed. May 15 1914. Serial No. 838,656.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS S. Wnrrn, a citizen of the United States, residmg at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processes and Apparatus for Forging Bucket-Wheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which. form a part of this specification.

The forging of bucket wheels and similar articles involves considerable expense v for several reasons. The dies are cumbersome and expensive, their life is very short, and special dies are necessary for each slze of wheel.

The object of my invention is to make the wheels by a process that will render it possible to use comparatively small and inexpensive dies of comparatively great durability and which may be utilized'in the manufacture of wheels of different sizes.

In the drawings,.which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the apparatus: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the dies showing the wheel in cross section at the conclusion of the forging opegeation. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. 'Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the blank. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

a represents the anvil or lower die and b the upper die. These dies are approximately of a length equal to the radius of the wheel to be formed and of a width equal to the length of a comparatively small arc of the circumference of the wheel to be formed. The lower die is provided with a socket to receive "the neck of a removable pm 0.

Let it be assumed that it is desired to form a wheel 80 inches in diameter whose hub shall be 9 inches thick and 26 inches in diameter with a central hole 13 inches in diameter and whose body shall be three inches in thickness. With this assumption, a pin 0 of a diameter of about 8 inches will be placed in the socket of the lower die a and on the lower die will be placed a blank (Z of about 12 inches in thickness and of a diameter dependent upon the desired weight of the wheel, and with a central hole of about 9 inches in diameter. The blank is suitably supported at the side thereof opposite the die. The upper die I), by appropriate mechanism, is lifted and forcibly dropped, and alternately with the operation of the dies the blank d is turned step by step, until the dies have acted upon the entire area of the wheel. During this operation, it is important to maintain that part of the blank which is being operated upon firmly against the pin 0. The results of this operation are: first, to displace the -metal, mainly tangentially, that is, at substantially right angles to the radius under the die, thereby increasing the diameter of p the wheel; next, to properly shape the wheel at the junction of the hub and body; next,

to reduce the thickness of the wheel, very much in its body portion, and slightly in its hub portion; and finally, to considerably increase the diameter of the central hole due to the displacement of the metal at right angles to the direction of extension of the dies.

The extent to which the central hole will be enlarged will vary in difierent cases and must be determined by experience. In the example above given the hole will be enlarged by about 4 inches.

It will be understood that by inserting in the socket of the lower die pins of difierent diameters and by using blanks of different sizes and with different sized holes, wheels of difierent sizes may be forged; and the diameters of the wheel, the hub and the central hole may all be predetermined with such accuracy as is necessary in the rough forging.

It is obvious that the cost of a pair of dies like that herein set forth adapted to forge different sized wheels is but a small fraction of the cost of a number of pairs of dies each adapted to the forging of only one size of wheel and each of a size corresponding to the dimensions of the finished wheel. It is also obvious that the wear and tear of the dies produced by the gradual displacement of the metal of the blank is much less than that produced by the displacement in one operation of the entire body of metal.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of forging wheels with a central opening which consists in forming a blank with a central hole, compressing a relatively small part of the entire blank on one side of the hole while maintaining the adjacent wall of the hole against an abutment, and repeating the operation on other relatively small parts of the blank until the entire blank has been forged.

2. The process of forging wheels with a central opening which consists in forming a blank with a central hole, maintaining the wall of the hole at one point against a fixed abutment, compressing the metal of the blank along a radially extending section thereof adjacent to said point, thereby displacing the metal outwardly and also in a direction-tending to enlarge the hole, turning the wheel relatively to the abutment to bring another point on said wall against the abutment, compressing another radially extending section of the blank adjacent to the last named point, and continuing the operation until the blank has been forged and the hole enlarged to the desired diameters.

3. Means for forging Wheels comprising an upper die and a lower die adapted to compress the metal along successive radial sections of a blank provided with a hole extending centrally therethrough, and an abutment adapted, as the diameters of the wheel and central hole are increased in successive operations, to engage that part of the hole in the blank adjacent to the dies.

4. Means for forgin wheels from a blank having a hole extending centrally therethrough, comprising an upper die and a lower die adapted to compress the metal along a radial section of the blank, the lower die extending at one end beyond the upper die, and an abutment at the last named end of the lower die adapted to engage the wall of the hole in the blank.

5. Means for forging wheels comprising an upper die,-a lower die extending at one end beyond the upper die and provided at that end with a socket and a removable pin insertible in said socket.-

6. Means for forging wheels, comprising an upper die, a lower die of similar dimensions but extending at its inner end beyond the upper die, and an abutment at the last 'named end of the lower die adapted to clear the inner end of the upper die.

7. Means for forging wheels, comprising an upper die, a lower die of similar dimensions but extending at its inner end beyond the upper die, and provided at that end with a socket in its u per face also located beyond the inner end 0? the upper die, and a removable pin insertible in said socket.

In testimony of which invention,-I have hereunto setmyhand, at Philadelphia, on

this 12th day of May, 1914.

' FRANCIS S. WHITE.

Witnesses: v

JOSEPH ENTWISLE,

J. B. WEIRICH." 

